FUND FREEZE IS PRICE OF TESTING HANCOCK LIMITS

Litigation over the Hancock Amendment is once again in the news.

The Hancock Amendment is, of course the tax-limitation amendment to the Missouri Constitution that voters approved overwhelmingly 20 years ago next month.

The litigation has imperiled funding for capital-improvement projects across Missouri totaling $161 million. This is funding passed by the Legislature and signed into law by Gov. Mel Carnahan. However, in light of the lawsuit, the governor put a hold on this funding pending the outcome of the litigation.

Joined by several business groups, two Republican lawmakers filed suit to enforce what they claim the Hancock Amendment requires.

The business groups are the Missouri Chamber of Commerce, the Missouri Merchants and Manufacturers Association and the Associated Industries of Missouri. They are claiming that the Carnahan administration incorrectly calculated how much the state had to return to taxpayers after the state exceeded revenue caps from fiscal year 1995 on.

Among projects whose funding could be slashed if the lawsuits succeed are $1 million for the Cape Girardeau Career and Technology Center, $11.95 million for the River Campus at Southeast Missouri State University, $150,000 for the university's Kennett Learning Center, $750,000 for a vocational facility in Poplar Bluff and $6.1 million in funding to Missouri's river ports, including the Southeast Missouri Regional Port Authority, the New Madrid Port Authority and the Pemiscot County Port. The SEMO Port alone was to receive $1.5 million for landfill for a 25-acre industrial site.

The old saying, "The wheels of justice grind slow and exceedingly fine" won't help much either. It is accepted by all sides that all Hancock cases wind up in the Supreme Court for final disposition. This could easily take two years or more. Let's hope not.

In the meantime, welcome to another case seeking a firm reading on what exactly is meant by the Hancock Amendment.